Groovy, Laidback and Nasty

Sheffield has long been the UK's unacknowledged capital for futurist pop. Finally the city finds the champion it deserves in Daniel Dylan Wray. A rich blend of urban history and music chronicle, Groovy, Laidback and Nasty tells in vivid detail the story of a place, a people, and a succession of innovative sounds that would change pop again and again

Simon Reynolds

A passionate, painstakingly researched and richly detailed account of Sheffield's dreamers, eccentrics and visionaries - and the weird and wonderful sounds they created

Stephen Mallinder, Cabaret Voltaire

Plots the musical history of Sheffield, characterising it as a city - and musical culture - struggling to overcome its modesty

Uncut

Which of our cities can lay claim to being the epicentre of British musical life? Music writer Daniel Dylan Wray has restarted the debate with his new book Groovy, Laidback and Nasty, which makes the case for Sheffield - the hometown of Pulp, the Human League and Arctic Monkeys

Telegraph

Tells the story of seven decades of Sheffield independent music - a journey from the soulful tunes of Joe Cocker to the bombastic pop of Self Esteem, via electronic pioneers Cabaret Voltaire, the surge of bassline and the indie troubadours Arctic Monkeys . . . Not just a story about the established bands and big names . . . More than anything, provides portraits of different music scenes that grew organically . . . This book should be in every Sheffield school library

Exposed Magazine

Delves into many of Sheffield's cultural roots from Peter Stringfellow's club promoter days in the 1960s to Toddla T's teenage breakthrough in the late 2000s, as well as seminal nightclubs, worldwide pop stardom and more underground and leftfield music

Sheffield Star

There's an acknowledgement that Sheffield's music history is not, by any means, a straightforward story of success. It's a spontaneous saga of hidden rooms, marginal spaces and temporary freedoms

Now Then

On many levels this is a great read . . . Wray has done loads of foot work and research here to flesh out and bulk up the established post-punk and indie-rock Sheffield story

International Times

Features more than 150 new interviews . . . In Sheffield, creativity flourished in the face of isolation, economic decline and political circumstances, the book suggests

Sheffield Telegraph

A brilliant book by one of the best culture writers in the UK, that takes us through the joy and hilarity of Sheffield's always-lively independent music scene, and in doing so reminds us that this city has long been home to some of the UK's most excellent, experimental and eccentric musical giants

Miranda Sawyer

A passionate, painstakingly researched and richly detailed account of Sheffield's dreamers, eccentrics and visionaries - and the weird and wonderful sounds they created

Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire)

Alternative Sheffield gets the history it deserves ... a thrilling, immersive journey, in which the sounds are exciting and the characters are unique, but the city is the star

Record Collector

From '70s postpunk through '80s synthpop to '90s bleep techno and beyond, Sheffield has long been the U.K.'s unacknowledged capital for futurist pop. Finally the city finds the champion it deserves in Daniel Dylan Wray. A rich blend of urban history and music chronicle, Groovy, Laidback & Nasty tells in vivid detail the story of a place, a people, and a succession of innovative sounds that would change pop again and again

Simon Reynolds

Sheffield's strongly forged modesty means it has never had its dues as a music city, but it has now found the perfect champion in Daniel Dylan Wray. Deeply researched, passionate and quietly humorous

Luke Turner

This compelling chronicle of Sheffield's underground music scene is an essential read for any serious collector of northern musical history. From bleep and bass back to the roots of R&B, and onwards to the 21st century, the heart and soul of this impossibly cool city is explored through the people and places that defined its rich culture

Adelle Stripe

Wray's smart, page-turner of a book is spry, funny and doesn't shirk the darker corners of the story

The Herald

A fantastically detailed account of Sheffield's musical history. Wray leaves no stone unturned and couples extensive research with gloriously entertaining tales and writing that paints a really vivid picture of the city's artists, impresarios, hustlers, venues and landmark musical happenings

Elizabeth Alker